An (Almost) Three Year Old’s Christmas List

It’s happening! We’ll be quietly watching a toy review on You Tube Kids when a little voice rings out, “you buy me this?” My parenting in this situation has been a bit questionable in that I just reply, “We’ll put it on the Christmas list and ask Santa.” Unless it’s Lego (not Duplo) when I’ll explain to him that he has to be a bit older to play with those.

So quick disclaimer. I have no affiliation with any of the brands mentioned below. I would rather hitch my affiliation cart to art and craft supplies, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon either :P. This is just a glimpse into the mind of my little guy and what I’m hoping to turn into a Christmas tradition.

So here is a run-down of the parent-approved list to Santa, the no way list, and then the reality I’m hoping for.

The Approved Santa List

My little guy LOVES superheroes! And, more worrisome, super villains. So both lists have a lot of superhero toys with the exception of one particular anomaly which has thrown me off a bit. So here it is:

Any of the Fisher Price Imaginext DC Comics toy sets. These are pretty cool sets with bigger moving pieces. They have villain figures too which will result in epic battles of good vs bad. They’re also more age appropriate considering he’s almost three.

Playskool Marvel Superhero figures. There are playsets too but the Imaginext toys seem like they will hold up to a three year old toddler boy better. Therefore we’ll look at maybe a set of the figures.

Magformers magnetic blocks. We got to play with this in a toy store once and he absolutely loved it! I have never seen him sit still and be quiet for that long. I am super pumped about it.

Picture via Google images

The Lego Duplo Pizza kitchen set. For whatever reason, this really appeals to him. Just this particular set. None of the other Duplo sets.

A Moana doll. He hasn’t directly asked but he always plays with it in the store. I loved that movie and this doll sings the song so I’m okay with it!

Now, the toy that threw me off a little because of the chaos that ensued last year: a Hatchimal! Full disclosure: I don’t know what it is or what it does (other than a stuffed animal in an egg), just that it was an (expensive) pain in the butt for most parents last year. This was a bit of a reminder of what my future will be – predicting the “It” toy!

I realize that I put the Hatchimal on the approved list but just because it’s approved, doesn’t mean he’s getting it!

The No-Way Santa List

He wants the full set of Guardians of the Galaxy action figures. I don’t even know how to respond to this. I’m not even sure how he even knows about Guardians of the Galaxy to be honest. Other than the violence and the somewhat scary alien/space aspect, it’s a group of outcasts that come together. I’ll be holding onto the thought that this underlying theme is what’s appealing to my three year old…

Picture via Google images

A giant 4 foot storm trooper and Darth Vader doll. I think it appeals to him because they are almost as tall as he is. Either way, nope! And no idea why Star Wars. My husband’s pumped about it though.

Any action figure that makes noise, has wings, is loud, holds a gun, has lasers shooting out of its arm, and is just obnoxious in general. He’s three!

Lego! He will soon be at an age where the Juniors sets will be more appropriate but for now, no.

I tried encouraging Thomas the Tank Engine and Cars – the movie and actually toy cars. But he isn’t interested at this point in time.

Since my husband is getting his way with the Superheroes and Star Wars obsession, I’d appreciate any suggestions to encourage Harry Potter! I realize it may not be age appropriate yet but you could argue neither is Star Wars.

The Reality

The reality is that Santa is not likely to bring him these toys. Mom and dad and our extended family will pick and choose from this list but most likely not Santa.

This is why. One year a woman wrote into a newspaper asking that parents stop saying Santa was bringing their kids iPads, video games, and generally expensive toys. Her plea went on saying that Santa brought her kids socks, pajamas, and gloves because that’s all she could afford. So her kids never understood why Santa was bringing those kids these expensive, coveted items and not them.

Some people responded saying why should their kids be denied their vision of Santa because someone else can’t afford it. (For real! Someone actually said this to me when I told them this story). For me, it’s not about what other people can or can’t afford, it’s about how it’s perceived by kids. Every kid should be allowed to believe in Santa, St. Nick, Father Christmas, doesn’t matter! It’s a small part of what makes Christmas magical and exciting, especially as a kid. So in order to keep the dream alive for every kid who believes, we will be saving the more expensive toys as present from mom and dad and something small from Santa, including pajamas and socks, and (once we move from California), gloves. I feel it suggests a level of compassion and humility that I hope he understands one day.

So although my default this year has been “we’ll ask Santa”, I’ll be working on this response and finding a middle ground. There are a couple of other traditions I want to start incorporating. One such tradition starting this year (against my rational and reasonable thinking), is Elf on the Shelf. But I’ll be posting more on that later! Once I have some sort of plan in place! I think…